#VAGABONDZREVIEW: FOLKRIM - CRACK A COLD ONE
- Aug 31, 2022
- 6 min read
Something I really enjoy in metal music is folk elements. It's been a while since I started noticing some special features in Finnish music and the most impressive part of those is closely connected to melancholy which can either combine dark and sorrowful vibes or moving folk tunes able to make to jump (still, sometimes music from Finland can include both characteristics).
My addiction to Finnish folk has lived a long life since I started listening to the bands like Amorphis, Ensiferum, Kotiteollisuus and of course Nightwish. These bands are a good example of combining both folk and melancholic features in their releases and that's why their music reflexes pure magic, they can be pompous and majestic and fast and thrashy.
Folkrim is the band I would like to tell you about in this post.
BIO
Folkrim is a five-man band from Rauma, the grim western coast of Finland. To keep the long winters at bay, inspired by beer and nature, we wound up combining metal music with traditional instruments. Originally a one-man project, Folkrim grew fast into a full band and we released 'Tales of Tumult', our self-published album in the spring of 2021. A year later we've joined forces with Inverse Records and our second album, 'On Foaming Waves' is awaiting its release in the fall of 2022.
LET’S GET IT ANALYZED
Why have I chosen this band and single to review you might ask. You know, among a great deal of releases I'm receiving, the turning point for me to start writing about particularly Folkrim was folk metal domination in their music. My expectations and initial predictions on Crack a Cold One before and after listening turned out to be different. Primarily, my expectations were limited to classic dark heavy metal with some traditional instruments inserted. I hadn’t thought the song to have been that energetic and luminous appeared to be that’s why I would like to tell you more about this song and reprocess it once more.
Crack a Cold One is kicking, hella fast, lively and awe-inspiring. To boost and enhance the effect of those upcoming vibes, a nice solution could be implying peaceful and serene intro performed by acoustic guitar. And of course, from the very outbreak of the song I can feel the huge folk influence which is worked out in traditional instruments appearance. Already the first breath of Crack a Cold One made me truly amazed and amused by its mind-blowing energy taking over and over.
So it was totally folk manner for the song to come to life. The combination of persistent acoustic guitar and dominating traditional instruments doing their thing as if preparing for something huge to pop up. Oh yeah, it truly did. Moreover, with a really curious element featured.
While producing the new record, the music makers are always hunt for the attention-grabbing sounds that could bring riveting and in some cases unique features highlighted on the record. It's possible to use any object like glass, table, box and even… trash can. The same thing goes to opening beer can that was used in Crack a Cold One. It surely prepares the listener for some real party right the corner. The unusual sound can really take advantage and add some special feeling and quality to the song.
With features-wise initial intro transforms and gets its heavy shade I immediately catch so many cool vibes. First of all, the tune is versatile and complete and it makes me think of different genres implied into the song starting from magnificent power metal and ending with lively and moving folk. The traditional instruments create the basement to build folk sound, and the melody itself made me think of mighty Sabaton, say famed To Hell And Back from Heroes album. Additionally, the entire sound includes the elements of melodic death metal, judging by fast and stable drums keeping the lower section alive.
The lively intro incorporates different moods, as for me both party spirit and melancholy are proportionally prevailing. It’s one of the of “Finnishness” elements of the music and wonderful ability of Finnish bands to make the sound remarkable, completed and catchy.
The heavy instruments domination has been replaced with traditional ones again. Now I get that folk influence is prevailing here as long as the verse mood has saved the folk wave. The verse is lively; such effect is also reached by the vocalist's tremendous skills in combination with both types of instruments. I daresay the verse style reminds me Lordi so much - it's rhythmic, the vocals are a bit rough and harsh dynamically following the music. The tempo kept by drums helps create a great deal of movement across the verse.
Now I would like to mention possibly the most considered solution provided by Folkrim during the songwriting of Crack a Cold One. Namely this element and the way Folkrim introduced it made me feel truly impressed. I should start with the bridge joining verse and chorus that was undoubtedly heavy and powerful; in other words, it was undoubtedly great element to imply. However, on that stage of the song I didn't feel the complete energy a chorus can bring. As it appears, Folkrim hasn't missed a thing...
The genuine epicenter of Crack a Cold One blows up right after the bright chorus (that has nicely kept and developed the verse idea having made the things heavy and relentless!). It's nothing but the melodic bridge boosted up the energy of the chorus and smoothly drove the song to the heavy verse. It might seem weird at first, but such details turn the song perception upside down. Of course, the song was driving and energetic since the beginning but that melodic bridge has brought it to the new level. It has boosted it up thousand times and made it truly kicking. Why you ask? That mighty melodic bridge contains both folk and melancholic vibes that has reinforced the chorus effect and prolong it up to the end of the song and the vibes remain fantastic. As for me, this is a good example of being extremely attentive to details and it deserves respect. Now imagine how would it sound live...
The featured bridge that has become the turning point for Crack a Cold One to gain more force has made the rest of the song truly kicking and unstoppable. The second verse sounds way more convincing and stable for my perception, and I find the new bridge from verse to chorus more riveting and suitable. And believe me, thanks to the melodic bridge the “new” chorus feels different comparing to the first one! That's all about the importance of making a song versatile and developed - the melodic inserts worked out perfectly for Crack a Cold One.
A guitar solo can enlarge any sound and diversify the main idea demonstrated in a song. Being a guitar player myself, I can’t help noticing a guitar solo and needless to say, Folkrim did their best dropping the lively tune across the rhythm guitar. Also thanks to reliable basement made by rhythm section (and hella fast beat) the solo feels perfect and it increases the surge of adrenaline made by entire song.
The last breath of Crack a Cold One has gone smoothly and calming, with traditional instruments dominating at last. And frankly speaking, I wasn't expecting the song to end like that. I mean, if the band would have added couple of blast beats followed by chorus performed with moved up octave it might have given even more adrenaline to Crack a Cold One. But I guess, the band preferred to wander off the beaten song structure and not overuse the same song patterns. I can claim that it's nice decision to keep your own style and grow individuality.
Crack a Cold One is a terrific song which boosts your spirit, allows you to take a break from daily routine and just take the things easy. It's lightheaded, amusing and simply fascinating. It's delightful to have songs like this and I felt a great deal of enjoyment while listening to this one.
After the brand new album see the light I'm totally sure that Folkrim will be ready to break new ground and add their folk metal influence on Finnish metal scene. The new album On Foaming Waves is set to release on October 21st 2022 via Inverse Records.
LISTEN TO Entwined! (the second single of On Foaming Waves) on streaming services:
CD pre-order available on Inverse Store.
WATCH a lyric video of Crack a Cold One: https://youtu.be/anoNPi_L-vM
Folkrim - On Foaming Waves (2022) 01. Blackout 02. Unhinged Alchemist 03. On Foaming Waves 04. Crack a Cold One 05. Towards the Sun
06. Entwined! 07. One More For the Road 08. Midsummer Mead 09. Brace Yourselves 10. Rövarehumppa 11. Under the Black 12. Winterstorm 13. Drunken Song 14. A Falling Tide
Comments